This Stegosaurus skeleton from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is more than 26 feet long and over nine feet tall. The bony beast is a permanent display with steel shaped around it, welded in place, and puttied together, making it impossible to take apart. Which means it was super difficult to scan! Triebold Paleontology, Inc. scanned the dinosaur using Artec Space Spider and Artec Studio software. The scanning involved crawling into the rib cage, then perching atop a step ladder just to reach the peaks of the big fan-shaped plates on the dinosaur’s back. The scanner captured everything from the nose to the tail spikes. Beyond aligning the scans, Artec Studio also reduced the mesh size to the desired level for manipulating the 3D model and 3D printing. Scanning time: 1 week - Processing time: 2 months (629 individual scans across 71 scan projects).

Read more here https://www.artec3d.com/cases/3d-scanning-one-piece-dinosaur-skeleton-minute-detail

Stegosaurus Skeleton

3D scan of a Terror-bird model from the species *Paraphysornis brasiliensis*. Members of the Phorusrhacidae family are commonly known under the term "terror birds". Species of these apex predators could reach a height up to 3 meters! They lived mainly in South America from the early Tertiary (55 million years ago) until the late glacial period. 

This model can be found in Hall 9 at the NHM Vienna.

**Specimen**: *Paraphysornis brasiliensis* (Alvarenga, 1982)

**Inventory number**: NHMW-GEO-2012/0007/0001

**Collection**: Natural History Museum Vienna, Geology & Paleontology Dept., Vertebrate Coll. (curator: Ursula Göhlich)

Find out more about the NHMW [here](http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en).

Scanned and edited by Nikola Brodtmann, Anna Haider & Viola Winkler (NHMW)

Scanner: Artec Leo. Infrastructure funded by the FFG.

Terror Bird (NHMW-GEO-2012/0007/0001)

3D scan of a Plateosaurus (*Plateosaurus trossingensis*) skeleton. *Plateosaurus trossingensis* was an herbivore, “prosauropod” dinosaur with a small skull but a long neck and tail. This skeleton consists of original bones, as well as 3D print-reconstructions; details can be seen in the graphic below. 

![Plateosaurus](https://verlag.nhm-wien.ac.at/data/Sketchfab/Plateosaurus_Info.png)
© NHMW

The skeleton is on display in Hall 7 of the NHM Vienna.

**Species**: *Plateosaurus trossingensis* Fraas, 1913 

**Collection**: Natural History Museum Vienna, Geology & Paleontology Dept., Vertebrate Coll. (curator: Ursula Göhlich) – Permanent loan from the [Dinosaur Museum in Frick](https://sauriermuseum-frick.ch/en/)

Find out more about the NHMW [here](http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en).

Scanned and edited by A.Festi, C.Guerin, A.Haider, P.Tranchet, V.Winkler (NHMW)

Normal map generated in xNormal (added June 2024).

Scanner: Artec Leo. Infrastructure funded by the FFG.

Plateosaurus Skeleton

3D scan of an original fossilized skeleton of a giant deer (*Megaloceros giganteus*) found in Ireland from the Late Pleistocene (ca. 12,000 years old). The males had a shoulder height of around 2.1 meters and their antlers are the largest known in any deer with a width up to 4 meters. The giant deer disappeared around 11,700 years ago in Europe, like many other animals from the Ice Age.

The skeleton of the giant deer can be found in Hall 16 at the NHM Vienna. 

**Specimen**: Giant deer or Irish elk, *Megaloceros giganteus* (Blumenbach, 1799) 

**Inventory number**: NHMW-GEO-1876/0030/0003

**Collection**: Natural History Museum Vienna, Geology & Paleontology Dept., Vertebrate Coll. (curator: Ursula Göhlich)

Find out more about the NHMW [here](http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en).

Scanned and edited by Nikola Brodtmann, Anna Haider & Viola Winkler (NHMW)

Scanner: Artec Leo. Infrastructure funded by the FFG.

Giant Deer (NHMW-GEO-1876/0030/0003)

3D scan of an original fossilized skeleton of a saber-toothed cat (*Smilodon populator*) from the late Pleistocene. It was found in Río Areco in Argentina and is about 40,000 years old. 

The skeleton of the saber-toothed cat can be found in Hall 16 at the NHM Vienna. 

**Specimen**: Saber-toothed cat, *Smilodon populator* (Lund, 1842) 

**Inventory number**: NHMW-GEO-1910/0102/0001

**Collection**: Natural History Museum Vienna, Geology & Paleontology Dept., Vertebrate Coll. (curator: Ursula Göhlich)

Find out more about the NHMW [here](http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en).

Scanned and edited by Nikola Brodtmann, Anna Haider & Viola Winkler (NHMW)

Scanner: Artec Leo. Infrastructure funded by the FFG.

Saber-Toothed Cat (NHMW-GEO-1910/0102/0001)

3D scan of a skeleton cast of the *Diplodocus carnegii*. These dinosaurs roamed North America 150 million years ago, during the Morrison formation in the Jurassic. 

This cast was gifted to Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1909 from the American tycoon Mr. Andrew Carnegie. The original skeleton of “Dippy” is mounted in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburg, PA, USA.

The *Diplodocus* skeleton is the biggest exhibit at the NHM Vienna and Number 29 of the NHM Top 100. It can be found in Hall 10.

**Specimen**: *Diplodocus carnegii* Hatcher, 1901

**Inventory number**: NHMW-GEO-1909/0004/0003

**Origin**: Sheep Creek, Wyoming, USA

**Collection**: NHMW, Geology & Paleontology Dept., Vertebrate Coll. (curator: Ursula Göhlich)

Find out more about the NHMW [here](http://www.nhm.at/en).

Scanned by Robin Koger, Manuel Preslmayr, Rayyan Salem Ahmed, Viola Winkler & Anna Haider (NHM Wien)

Edited by A. Haider and V. Winkler

Scanner: Artec Leo. Infrastructure funded by the FFG.

3D model updated on 26.6.2024

Diplodocus carnegii (NHMW-GEO-1909/0004/0003)

This 3D model is a repost of [this data](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/terror-bird-nhmw-geo-201200070001-5847cc0ce8584b26a40056491bc618ca) published by the [Naturhistorisches Museum Wien](https://sketchfab.com/NHMWien), optimized for AR / VR using [rapidcompact.com](https://rapidcompact.com/). 

993.6k faces > 30k (97% reduction!).

> This model can be found in Hall 9 at the Natural History Museum of Vienna.
> 
> Specimen: Paraphysorins brasiliensis (Alvarenga, 1982)
> 
> Inventory number: NHMW-Geo 2012/0007/0001
> 
Collection: Natural History Museum Vienna, Geology and Paleontology Department, Vertebrate Collection (curator: Ursula Göhlich)
> 
> Find out more about the NHM Vienna [here](http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en).
> 
Scanned and edited by Nikola Brodtmann, Anna Haider, Viola Winkler (NHMW)
> 
> Scanner: Artec Leo. Infrastructure funded by the FFG.

Terror Bird NHMW - Optimized OBJ

Species: *Miracinonyx trumani*

Pleistocene subfossil collected from a cave in the Grand Canyon during a 1936-1937 Civilian Conservation Corps expedition.

This fossil is in the collections at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Learn about paleontology in the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/index.htm

Learn more about Grand Canyon National Park’s Centennial: https://www.nps.gov/grca/getinvolved/centennial.htm

American Cheetah

I won't animate nor go on improving this model, which was a test at creating a skeleton made of metal from reference, here a [juvenile pronghorn skeleton](https://skfb.ly/6sW9u) from [Idaho Virtualization Laboratory](https://sketchfab.com/ivlpaleontology).

I'll try to discipline myself in the future to find the patience to create a proper and animated version of a similar model !

Test - Mechanical deer

Species: *Dolichometopus productus*

Collected from the Bright Angel Shale in Grand Canyon National Park: https://www.nps.gov/articles/trilobite.htm

This fossil is in the collections at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Learn about paleontology in the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/index.htm

Learn more about Grand Canyon National Park’s Centennial: https://www.nps.gov/grca/getinvolved/centennial.htm

Trilobite

3D scan of a skeleton of the extinct *Deinotherium* (translates to "terrible beast") or hoe tusker, that came to the Natural History Museum Vienna in 1885. The bones of this prehistoric elephant were found in Franzensbad, Czech Republic and originates from the Middle Miocene. 

The Deinotherium is Number 25 of the NHM Top 100 and can be found in Hall 9 of the NHM Vienna. 

**Specimen**: *Deinotherium* or hoe tusker, *Prodeinotherium bavaricum* (Meyer 1831) 

**Inventory number**: NHMW-GEO-2000/0047/0000

**Collection**: Natural History Museum Vienna, Geology & Paleontology Dept., Vertebrate Coll. (curator: Ursula Göhlich)

Find out more about the NHMW [here](http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en).

Scanned and edited by Nikola Brodtmann & Viola Winkler (NHM Wien)

Scanner: Artec Leo. Infrastructure funded by the FFG.

Hoe Tusker (NHMW-GEO-2000/0047/0000)

Species: *Tainoceras schellbachi*

Collected from the Kaibab Limestone in Grand Canyon National Park. Holotype specimen.

This fossil is in the collections at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Learn about paleontology in the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/index.htm

Learn more about Grand Canyon National Park’s Centennial: https://www.nps.gov/grca/getinvolved/centennial.htm

Nautiloid

3D scan of a Protoceratops (*Protoceratops andrewsi*) skeleton. *Protoceratops andrewsi* was a horned dinosaur (Ceratopsia) the same group to which the Triceratops also belongs. Protoceratops lived in late Cretaceous (75 - 71 millions years ago) in Asia. 

The skeleton was found in Mongolia and bought by the NHMW in 1998.

Do you want to 3D print the skull of this skeleton? [Find the 3D model here.](https://www.printables.com/de/model/973084-protoceratops-andrewsi-nhmw-geo-201504040001/comments)

**Specimen**:  *Protoceratops andrewsi* (Granger & Gregory, 1923) 

**Inventory number**: NHMW-GEO-2015/0404/0001

**Collection**: Natural History Museum Vienna, Geology & Paleontology Dept., Vertebrate Coll. (curator: Ursula Göhlich)

Find out more about the NHMW [here](http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en).

Scanned and edited by Clara Winkler and Viola Winkler (NHMW)

Scanner skull: Artec Space Spider.

Scanner body: Artec Leo.

Assembled in Blender.

Protoceratops andrewsi (NHMW-GEO-2015/0404/0001)

I know nothing about animation, nor big cats anatomy, but I am checking how to "set up a rig" in blender and export an animation (exporting works fine at least) from an [original wonderful model](https://skfb.ly/OtHC) coming from [Idaho Virtualization Laboratory]( @ivlpaleontology ), so thanks to them! 

As I have no clue about what I am doing (and am not sure I'll ever), I guess that the lion will end up walking like a human, and I'll call that project a day. Or maybe not!

The scan was remeshed from 3.1M to 100k triangles, so I guess you could still re-use it if you wish.

I tried to make a cool-looking material using an additive opacity, adding a blue-ish wireframe, and setting the material to a PBR smooth metal. Looks fine in my opinion.

WIP - A Crappy Animator - 1

3D scan of a Southern stout-legged moa (*Euryapteryx curtus gravis*) skeleton from the Holocene. Moas are extinct birds that lived on New Zealand. This skeleton was donated to the museum by Dr. Julius Ritter von Haast in 1884. 

This specific skeleton is housed backstage, but complete skeletons of both a southern giant moa (*Dinornis robustus*, formally called *Dinornis maximus*) and another stout-legged moa are number 77 of the NHM Top 100 and can be found in Hall 30 of the NHM Vienna. Three more skeletons of different moa species are on display in the Ice Age (Eiszeit) corridor.

**Specimen**: Southern stout-legged moa, *Euryapteryx curtus gravis* (Owen, 1870)

**Inventory number**: NHMW-GEO-2021/0008/0001

**Collection**: NHMW, Geology & Paleontology Dept., Vertebrate Coll. (curator: Ursula Göhlich)

Find out more about the NHMW [here](http://www.nhm.at/en).

Scanned & edited by N. Brodtmann, A. Haider & V. Winkler (NHMW)

Scanner: Artec Leo. Infrastructure funded by the FFG.

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